Does the colour make a difference to the heat inside?

[GWAYGWAY]

I was looking a Lunar Landstar which is a light silver for the cooking version WITHOUT aircon, and then went to a dealer locally who had the super duper version S with aircon and loads more bits and pieces. However that was a really dark grey almost black called Tenrite Grey and is a MB factory colour. Question is what difference would the rally dark grey make to the internal temperature in the sun ? It is well insulated with a thick layer of Thinsulate but it seems to me the solar gain might be a bit too much in the continental sun, cool a t night but maybe unbearable in the daytime. I actually hate the fact that most vans are white but does any colour make a difference? It might be possible to ORDER the lighter colour but it would have to come from Germany as a factory special because of the MB differences ie a 313 and the S model is an 316 with factory fitted aircon. Hence it would cost more and take a long time to comem what do YOU think?

 

[Chockswahay]

Our PVC was dark grey ............ we loved it! However on a hot day it was a hot place to be On the other hand we chose the colour so that we could be more incognito when wild camping

On cool days the colour would help the van warm up when the sun came out.

I think, on the whole it's a balance ................ would I have a dark colour again? Yes I would actually

 

[Khizzie]

Basically,light colours reflect heat ,so cooler in summer ,and much colder in winter,darker colours absorb heat so are much hotter in summer and slightly warmer in winter ..

 

[GWAYGWAY]

So do I get one of the Super duper dark grey hothouses? Do they do partial covers of reflective cloth to shade the dark roof from the Sun? Windows can have silver screens it is just the roof.

 

[sallylillian]

I had a Bronze, silver and black RV. The front eyebrow was black. It was well insulated, but it used to get so hot in Spain that you could not touch it on the outside and the cupboards inside were veritable ovens. Yes colour makes a huge difference, as does the angle to the sun.

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

Our Pug is winter white, metalic gold , normal speak.
Though Ralph insulated him within an inch of his life. He used the thin 10mm black sticky foil backed stuff most PVC manufacturers use. Then 25mm and 50 mm Kingspan, shoving lambswool in the hard to reach bits and foam gun in the even harder.....
We've not had really hot, or colder than -7. But we think we will be ok!
We've got the Webasto diesel heating and the fan-tastic endless breeze roof mounted extractor blower in fan thingy too.
We also use our silver screen summer /winter too.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Tenorite grey is a nice colour on a Mercedes car but believe me it gets very hot. I vowed not to have a dark colour car again ( says he now with the almost black car )

 

[peterc10]

As others have pointed out darker colours absorb more heat. Our new Hymer is grey. But Hymer keep the roof white in order, they say, the help prevent heat absorption. Having said that we have noticed that heat builds up quickly in ours on a sunny day, even when the actual temperature is low. We did not notice that so much in our previous motorhome. Not sure if that is to do with the colour or the fact that the new one is an A class and has a lot more glass at the front.

 

[hilldweller]

Years ago I swore I'd never ever buy a black car again, and I didn't. Murder in the summer.

 

[Rapido666F]

Basically,light colours reflect heat ,so cooler in summer ,and much colder in winter,darker colours absorb heat so are much hotter in summer and slightly warmer in winter ..

Not quite. Energy flows from places at a high temperature to places at a low temperature.

In summer the outside is likely to be hotter than the inside so energy flows inwards, making it warmer. In winter it is the reverse, with energy flowing out. Dark colours are likely to enhance the rate of energy flow by radiation, although I think the temperatures involved are not going to be significant.

So during the day dark vehicles may heat up more quickly AND they will lose heat more quickly at night IF colour turns out to be important.

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[Khizzie]

Not being a thermal technician,I gave a general answer to a simple question ..however I bow to your superior knowledge on the subject ..and promise to look up your knowledgeable response in future. . ..Roy.

 

[Charlie123]

Basically,light colours reflect heat ,so cooler in summer ,and much colder in winter,darker colours absorb heat so are much hotter in summer and slightly warmer in winter ..

Light colours do reflect heat. Silver for instance. It used to be common to paint flat roof areas with a silver paint called silver flex. Or spread light coloured chippings over to partially reflect and also prevent the heat sink into the ashlhalt or black tar/felt..

I can't quite see how light colours are colder in winter though ?

 

[Khizzie]

Light colours do reflect heat. Silver for instance. It used to be common to paint flat roof areas with a silver paint called silver flex. Or spread light coloured chippings over to partially reflect and also prevent the heat sink into the ashlhalt or black tar/felt..

I can't quite see how light colours are colder in winter though ?

I understood that lighter colours would reflect any heat that was available in the winter and thus drawing out any residual heat in van ..but its only my guess.

 

[phase3begins]

Had both.
Light grey - horribly hot all the time
Black - bloody freezing all the time.

Note: light grey was a destroyer in Indian Ocean
Black was submarine in Barents Sea.

 

[The Wino]

I wouldn't go for a black one because we sometimes leave the dog in alone when we are out and I know it we park with the front windows away from the sun and roof vents open it never gets too hot

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[Fenman]

When I was in the motor trade many moons ago I visited the Renault factories in France. At that time something like 90% or more of cars in France were white and I was told that it was for the very reasons above. White reflects the sun best.
Modern tastes have changed the percentage now. Different thinking today - don't all want to look the same.

 

[Charlie123]

Having worked in construction specifically in roofing I can say with no doubt black or dark colours act as a heat sink .

Some colours silver in particular reflect so therefore reduces the heat sink .

In winter it becomes slightly different . Don't confuse light with heat. If the heat of the sun is great the dark colours will absorb it. IE heat sink. If it's no hot there is no heat sink to deal with so whether the colour is light or dark there should be no perceptible difference.

Take solar panels. They are black by design . Greater heat sink. They also produce power though less in winter from light but that's down to the technology not the heat.

So in my humble... Dark couloirs hot inside in the sun.. In winter there will be no measurable difference .